I can only make seven quotes so I took the quotes out.
A pride is made up of a group of related females. They typically don't leave their natal pride. Groups of cooperating males are coalitions and they are temporary. The males born in a pride will be evicted by their fathers. They become nomads until they are strong enough to challenge for their own pride. In this way related females and males separate to prevent inbreeding. There have been some rare exceptions to this rule though.
A series or roars, grunts, snarls, etc. Pride bonds are reinforced with head rubs and other bodily contact.
Fun fact: lions can count. If they hear roars from a larger coalition they typically stay silent so as to not challenge a coalition with numerical superiority.
The same adaptations that all cats have, basically. Forward facing eyes to judge distance, massive muscular bodies, a mouth that rivals a kitchen knife set. They are still stalk and ambush predators. They have explosive ability and can run very fast for a short amount of time. Lions are unique among cats in that they (and sometimes cheetahs) will cooperate on a hunt. Although they launch solo attacks just as often as they do when in a group.
Habitat fragmentation. Their movement throughout their natural landscape is threatened in many parts by development for human needs. Wealthy people also like to hunt them for sport (Cecil).
See above.
No, because the field of lion conservation is relatively new and it takes many years to see results.
There is an invasive ant that's killing off trees that provide cover for the lions as they stalk their prey. This forces them to tackle larger, more dangerous prey.
Observe from a distance, be unemotional. One guy has been doing it for like 50 years. Conservation is as much politics as it is science. Local governments need to be invested in conservation to have the will to make it happen. Lions are considered vermin in many parts of Africa.
The Maasai regulary kill them. Lions fear them. Other tribes are more tolerant and lions seem to know this. Shepherders usually corral their goats and cattle for the night and there is somebody guarding the animals throughout the night. Other communities see an opportunity to make money off lions through ecotourism.
We will probably need to fence in lions to separate wild areas from human dominated landscapes.
Territories are passed down maternally through generations. The more productive territories (close to water, high prey density) will typically be smaller.
Still pretty good for the most part, with two notable exceptions: the Asiatic lions which are virtually clones and the Ngorongoro Crater lions. The crater lions are descended from maybe a dozen or so animals. Their territory is so rich in prey that they grow larger and stronger than neighboring lions. They are thus able to effectively shutoff their own gene pool from immigrant males.
Captive lions obviously live much longer and have better health. However they appear to be stressed at not being able to live like their DNA programs them to. Captive lions go through puberty early and for reasons unknown they have differntly shaped skulls.
Never worked with them.
As one of the world's charismatic megafauna the demand to study lions is high. You should probably start somewhere studying a less sexy animal and then be trustworthy enough to make your way to the lions.
Ask me anything about big cats.